On August 27, 2014 Ethan J. Tate was indicted by the Sullivan County Grand Jury for thirteen (13) counts of Statutory Rape by an Authority Figure. The following day, at approximately 2:30 PM, Kingsport Police Department Detectives tracked down Mr. Tate at 1920 Diana Road in Kingsport and placed him under arrest. He was transported to the Kingsport City Jail for processing and later transferred to the Sullivan County Jail in Blountville, where he is being held in lieu of a $50,000 bond.

Mr. Tate’s arrest stems from an extensive investigation into his intimate involvement with a female teenager who was 16 years of age at the time the relationship originated. K.P.D. Detectives learned that Mr. Tate had a series of no less than thirteen (13) sexual encounters with the teenager over a period of approximately six months, between September of 2013 and February of 2014.

At the time of these incidents, Mr. Tate was serving in the Sullivan County School System in the capacity of an Assistant Band Director, placing him in a position of authority over his teenage victim.

Due to the sensitive nature of this case and the age of the victim, no additional information will be released at this time.

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